Columnar closet



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. 'E. H. WATSON. GOLUMNAR. CLOSET.

(No Model.)

No. 400,614. Patented Apt 2,1889.

(N0 Mbdel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. I y E. H. WATSQN.

GOLUMINAR CLOSET. No. 400,614. Patented Apr. 2, 1889.

N. PETERS. Phalolilhogmpher, Wnhil slon. D. C.

v UNITED ST TE PATENT OFFICE.

EMMA HOPPER WATSON, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

COLUMNAR CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,614, dated April 2,1889.

Application filed October 31, 1888. Serial No- 289,610- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be itknown that I, EMMA HOPPER WATSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Elizabeth, Union county, New Jersey, have inventvided with aseries of pockets to contain fiat articles and the two sides adjacent tothe edges of the door being inclined toward one another at their rearedges to facilitate the exposure of the pockets fixed thereon when thedoor is op'ened.

It also consists in a closet with three equal sides and in a particularconstruction for the cap uponthe column to form a secret apartment,

The device is particularly adapted for retaining writing materials andstationery of all kinds, letters, valuable papers, and memo- I randa inconvenient proximity to a writingdesk, and by the use of a columnar formfor the closet a receptacle is formed of great capacity in proportion tothe floor-space that it occupies, and the articles contained therein aresustained at a convenient height for inspection and use when placed bythe side of a desk or work-table. The column or obelisk I may be made ofany polygonal cross-section having an uneven number of sides; but thethree-sided form is one in which the contents may be most fully exposedand reached when one of the sides is opened, and I have there- 'foreillustrated such form herein.

' The pentagonal column shown herein is provided with a triangular base,such form of base securing the utmost steadiness for a structureextending upward so far in proportion to its width. The column may beformed of any desired material and ornamented in any suitable manner,and when formed of fireproof sheathing the surface of such sheathln gmay be concealed by a coating of lincrusta- Walton, or by any otherkind. of decoration.

apartment in the cap.

The inside of'the door and the walls of the column are provided withpockets open upon their upper sides to receive the various articles thatmay be stored therein. Such pockets are not adapted to hold bulkyarticles, but utilize the space more effectively than shelves, as theymay be made nearly the full width of the door or opened side, and may beextended vertically upon the walls of the column for a much greaterdistance than its transverse dimensions.

By storin g papers, memoranda, and articles of stationery in such areceptacle they are protected from dust and from being thrown intoconfusion by the wind or any other cause.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a triangularcolumnar closet with the door closed. Fig. 2 is an elevation of thecolumn upon the side where the lid of the cap is hinged, with the lidand the columndoor both opened. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a columnwith the door open and in side exposed. Fig. 4 is a section on line :1:0c in Fig. 1, the door being shown open; and Fig. 5 is a plan of apentagonal column witha door, embracing two of its sides, partly opened.Fig. 6 is a view, upon a larger scale, of a frame for one of thecolumn-walls; and Fig. 7 is' a transverse section of the same with itsasbestus coating in section upon line y y in Fig. 6.

In Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, A is the base, provided with feet. B C arethe walls, D the door, E the cap, and F the lid to the secret The cap isseparated from the interior of the column by a head, K, and the lid F isformed of one of the triangular sides of the cap, with its hinge F uponone of the rear sides of the column, as shown in Fig. 2, so as not to benoticed in opening and closing the door D, and the existence of anopening into the cap is thus concealed in the whole interior of thecolumn.

G is a knob upon the door D, to open the same, and G a lock upon thedoor, adapted to fasten it when closed. Any convenient form of lock orlatch could be used.

H are pockets attached to the walls instead of shelves, and I arepockets attached to the inner side of the door D.

In Fig. 5 it will be noticed that the base (constituted by the feet B)being formed with fewer sides than the pentagonal column, is necessarilyof larger dimensions than the foot ofthe column, and the column is thusafiorded more stability than if the feet were attached merely to itscorners.

In Fig. 4 the pockets are shown of curved plan, which shape would bemost readily formed by bending thin sheets of wood, metal, or pasteboardand securin their edges to the edges of the walls 0 or door D; butpockets of any other form may be used.

In Fig. 5 the pockets H are shown with their front sides parallel to thewalls 0 to afford the greatest possible space within each of thepockets, and the pocket I upon the door D is made of such dimensions asto fit closely against the ends of the pockets upon the walls.

In Fig. 5 the walls are shown formed of sheets of asbestus, C, securedupon the inner and outer sides of frames J, one of which is shownseparately in Figs. 6 and '7 upon an enlarged scale.

The frame shown in Fig. 6 is adapted to form one side of the column, andis beveled at its longitudinal edges to fit the adjacent side, and thebase and cap could be similarly constructed, and a series of such framescould be readily secured together and to the baseA and cap E to form acolumn of the desired form. The entire device would thus be protectedfor a considerable time from the effects of fire, so as to preserve itscontents from destruction if it were removed from the building before ithad been exposed to a heat of too great intensity.

Casters M may be affixed to the feet B, if desired, as shown in Fig. 1.The base A would be preferably formed of castv metal, or otherwiseweighted, and made as heavy as the entire structure, so as to afford thecolumn considerable steadiness when placed in position for use, and thefeet maybe extended to any required distance from the corners of thecolumn to increase the stability in any desired degree.

Such a columnar closet when made of four feet in height would have itssides from nine to twelve inches in width, and it is obvious that such acloset provided with suitable pockets would hold a large quantity ofstationery, letters, papers, and memoranda, while occupying very littlespace upon the floor. It is also obvious that such a closet may bereadily moved to any spot in a room where it may be used, and that itmay also be put entirely out of the way in a large closet or pantry, ifdesired.

By using asbestus sheathing of sufiicient thickness to form a rigid doorthe entire closet may be made of such material without the use ofauxiliary frames, and the parts be secured together by any suitablemetallic fastenings. It will also be understood that the use ofapolygonal form for the cap permits the formation of a lid in the capwith the joint upon the angles, and the joint is thus rendered much lessconspicuous than if formed in the flat surfaces of the material.

It will be seen by reference to Figs. 3 and at that the triangular formis especially adapted to expose the pockets upon the inner walls, G, andthat when the door is closed, as indicated by the dotted line (1 in Fig.4, the several pockets would fill the entire space within the closet andthe entire accommodation thus be utilized.

I am aware that it is common to provide ticket-closets with strips uponthe inner side of the door, as well as upon the back of the closet, tosuspend rows of tickets, as in United States Patent N 0. 40,088. In myinvention the entire inner walls of the closet, including the door, areprovided with shallow pockets adapted to hold stationery, and thecapacity of the structure is thus made many times greater than could beafforded by providing the closet with shelves. This increased ca pacitywill be clearly seen by inspecting Fig. 3, in which fifteen pockets areshown, all of them being much greater in dimensions than any shelf thatcould be placed within the col- 1111111.

By forming the column like an obelisk and with an equal number of sides,as in the three and five sided examples illustrated, the inner walls ofthe column are much better exposed for the application of pockets thanwith the rectangular form generally used for closets.

I hereby disclaim the United States Patent No. 40,088, referred toabove, and any other closet not columnar in form with equal sides, likean obelisk. The obelisk or columnar form affords the greatest internalcapacity for wallpockets in relation to the transverse section of thecloset.

Having thus set forth my invention, What I claim herein is 1. A columnarcloset in the form of an obelisk with an uneven number of sides, one ormore of the sides being hinged to form a door, the inner sides of thedoor and column being provided with a series of pockets to contain flatarticles, and the two sides adjacent to the edges of the door beinginclined toward one another at their rear edges to facilitate theexposure of the pockets fixed thereon, substantially as herein setforth.

2. A columnar closet in the form of an obelisk having three equal sides,one of the sides being hinged to form a door, and all the inner sides ofthe column, including the door, being provided with pockets, as and forthe purpose set forth.

3. The columnar closet consisting. in the hollow obelisk formed with anuneven number of sides, the pyramidal Gap E, the head In testimonyWhereofIhave hereunto set rny K, separating the interior of the cap andobhand in the presence of two subscribing witelisk, the door D, hingedat one side of the nesses.

obelisk, and the lid F, formed of one side of EMMA HOPPER WATSON. 5 thecap and having its hinge arranged at a Witnesses:

different side from the door D, as and for the J. MADISON WATSON,

purpose set forth. W. H. BERGFELS.

